Jefferson council vetoes ATV use on city streets

By Rick Morain
Jefferson Herald

Acting on a suggestion from the local police department, the Jefferson City Council on Tuesday voted down a proposal to allow operation of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) on city streets. The vote was 2 to 3, with councilmembers Dave

Sloan and Darren Jackson voting yes and councilmembers Matt Wetrich, Pat Zmolek, and Harry Ahrenholtz voting no.

After the meeting, Ahrenholtz told the Herald that the council’s police committee and police chief Mark Clouse had recommended against the proposal. Ahrenholtz said that although ATVs are permitted to operate on rural roads (not state highways), a comparison with city streets is not valid, since there are more pedestrians and heavier traffic in cities.
The vote had followed a recent request from city resident Tim Pound, made at the previous council meeting, for the council to take a vote on the measure.

CITY PURCHASES HOUSE FOR $25K    

In another split vote, the council voted 4 to 1 in favor of purchasing the abandoned house at 105 East Adams for $25,000. The property sits immediately east of the property where the former three-story Haag Apartments had been. The Haag was purchased by the city recently for $5,000 and torn down.

Building inspector Chad Stevens told the council the Adams Street property, which has been abandoned since 2007, could be added to the Haag property to make a larger location for multi-family residence homes.
Ahrenholtz, Jackson, Zmolek, and Wetrich voted yes to purchasing the property while Sloan voted no. During the discussion, Sloan expressed concern about the $25,000 price and said he feared it would create a precedent for such purposes in the future.

COUNCIL ESTABLISHES ANIMAL SHELTER BOARD

The council approved an ordinance creating a board to manage the new animal shelter. The seven-member board will include two city resident seats, another for a licensed veterinarian, another for a city council member, another for a nominee by People for Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), another for a city police officer, and another for a representative named by the county board of supervisors.

PROGRESS ON DOWNTOWN APTS

The council held a public hearing on the status of improvements funded by a state Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) for the upper-story apartment project at 123 North Chestnut (site of the former Don’s True Value hardware store at the northeast corner of the square). No oral or written comments were received from the public.
The six apartments on the second floor of the building are being remodeled. The building will house a restaurant on the first floor, with work on the restaurant to be undertaken after the apartment project is completed. Completion of the apartment portion of the project is expected in April.

The council approved Pay Estimate No. 5 in the amount of $23,928 from CDBG funds for the apartment project.

OTHER NOTABLE ACTION

• An $1.5 million grant agreement with the Iowa Department of Transportation (IDOT) for the city to help fund replacement of Jackson Bridge on South Grimmell Road across the Raccoon River was approved.
Total cost of the project is estimated at $3.4 million. Greene County will take the lead on the project and provide much of the funding, through federal and/or state grant funds.

• The council placed on third reading and adopted the ordinance that will raise sewer rates by 15 percent each of the next five years, starting this July 1. The increase will help pay the cost of the improved wastewater treatment plant, a project required by new state standards for sewer plant effluents.

• The council adopted a proposed property tax levy rate for fiscal year 2023-24, which begins July 1. The levy rate, if approved at a council meeting in the near future, will not exceed $1.56 per thousand dollars of taxable property. The maximum levy affects most, but not all, of the various city funds. The total maximum levy for those funds would be $1,843,891.
The action on the levy rate followed a public hearing, at which a question was raised about how the levy rate could be set before the actual budget is determined. City administrator Mike Palmer explained that much of the work on the budget has already been done, and the $1.56 rate is a rate proposed by city staff.

• The council set the date of its next council meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 14, for the 2023-24 budget workshop.

• A project to improve the entrance to city hall at 220 North Chestnut was approved. Estimated cost of the project is just under $95,000. The approval followed a public hearing on the project, with no oral or written comments received.

• The council approved an amendment to the engineering services agreement with Bolton & Menk on the Russell Street water main improvement project. The project was expanded to include water mains on Oak and Park Streets. The amendment raised the fee for the services by about $4,800.

• A contract of about $2.2 million with Bolton & Menk for professional services for the wastewater plant improvement project was also approved.

• The council approved an agreement with ICS Technologies Inc. for software and technology services at a monthly fee of $575.55.

• A Class E liquor license was approved for Fareway.
The council approved city staff appointments as follows: Roxanne Gorsuch city clerk and city treasurer, David Morain city attorney, James D. Leiding, P.E., city engineer, and Chad Stevens code enforcement officer and building and zoning official.

The Jefferson City Council meets regularly the second and fourth Tuesdays of every month at 5:30 p.m. on the second floor of city hall.